Non Patent Document 1 reported that the spin polarized helium ion is generated by Penning ionization of optical pumped metastable helium atom (He*(23S1)).
The Penning ionization is represented by the following reaction formula (1),He*+He*→He++He+e−  (1)where He* represents a metastable helium atom, He+ represents a monovalent helium cation, and e− represents an electron. In this reaction, a spin angular momentum component of helium is conserved.
Thus, when metastable helium atom (He*) is subjected to an optical pumping and is spin polarized, then an electron of the generated helium ion (He+) is also spin polarized. In the present invention, such an ion is called a polarized ion or a spin polarized ion.
In the case of a method of using the polarized ion beam to inspect the magnetic property of the surface and interface of material, the measurement time must be minimized in order to prevent the surface contamination during the measurement because the polarized ion beam is very sensitive to the surface.
Conventionally, as disclosed in Non Patent Document 2, the polarization of a helium ion has been provided by an optical pumping using circularly polarized light having a wavelength of the D1 line corresponding to the transition of metastable helium atom 23S1 to 23P1. Techniques for using circularly polarized light and linearly polarized pumping light that are orthogonal to each other to generate a spin polarized electron out of a metastable helium atom are disclosed in Non Patent Documents 3 and 4.
This conventional technique provides a polarization rate of a helium ion of 18%. A polarized helium ion having a polarization rate equal to or higher than 18% has been impossible. Thus, it was difficult to prevent the surface contamination during the measurement, and there has been the limitation on the measurement result.
In a processing such as a surface reforming by using polarized ion beam, there has caused a limitation of processing accuracy due to the low polarization rate of the polarized ion beam.
The analysis for the identification of elements of the magnetic structure is possible by using the conventional techniques such as neutron scattering (Non Patent Document 5) and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy (Non Patent Document 6). However, these techniques are not sensitive to the surface of analyzed specimen, it was impossible to analyze the magnetic structure limited to a few atomic layers of the surface.
On the other hand, the conventional techniques such as the spin polarized photoelectron spectroscopy (Non Patent Document 7) and the spin polarized metastable atom deexcitation spectroscopy (Non Patent Document 8) have the sensitivity to the surface. Since these techniques have no capability to identify elements, it is impossible to analyze the magnetic structure by discriminating an element from an atomic layer.
As described above, the conventional techniques could not provide an analysis of the magnetic structure by discriminating the elements in a few atomic layers of the surface.
Furthermore, it was possible to analyze the composition and structure of the surface and interface by the conventional ion scattering spectroscopy (Non Patent Document 9). However, an analysis of the spin in the surface and interface of a specimen could not be achieved.
In other words, while the elucidation of the magnetic structure of the surface and interface has been important in the development of new devices, it has been impossible to analyze to select elements from the outermost surface of about 2 to 3 atomic layers by using the conventional analysis techniques.    Non Patent Document 1: L. D. Schearer, Physical Review Letters, 22, (1969), 629.    Non Patent Document 2: D. L. Bixler, Review of Scientific Instruments, 70, (1999), 240.    Non Patent Document 3: S. Essabaa et al., Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, A334, (1994), 315-318.    Non Patent Document 4: L. D. Schearer et al., Physical Review A, Vol. 42, No. 7, (1 Oct. 1990), 4028-4031.    Non Patent Document 5: C. G. Shull et al., Physical Review, 84, (1951), 912.    Non Patent Document 6: Makoto Imada, Butsuri (Membership Journal of the Physical Society of Japan), 55, (2000), 20.    Non Patent Document 7: P. D. Johnson et al., Journal of Physics, Condensed Matter, 10, (1998), 95.    Non Patent Document 8: M. Onellion et al., Physical Review Letters, 52, (1984), 380.    Non Patent Document 9: D. P. Smith, Journal of Applied Physics, 38, (1967), 340.    Non Patent Document 10: W. Happer, Review of Modern Physics, 44, (1972), 169.    Non Patent Document 11: M. Aono and R. Souda, Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 24, (1985), 1249.    Non Patent Document 12: Taku Suzuki, Extended Abstracts of the 53rd Spring Meeting, The Japan Society of Applied Physics and Related Societies, Tokyo, No. 2, (2006), 782.    Non Patent Document 13: R. Souda et al., Surface Science, 179, (1987), 199.